Basic Granola Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is plain granola made of? ›

Basic (but very good) granola requires just a handful of ingredients: rolled oats, a sweetener, some cooking oil, and maybe nuts or dried fruit. Once you master that basic formula, it's easy to customize a mix for your own preferences.

Clumpy Granola Method: Add Egg White

About this method: According to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, “Nothing glues like protein.” While there are many granola recipes that include an egg white, I got this tip from the Big Cluster Maple Granola recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

I aim to let it hit room temperature, whatever that may be; the real point is to give it ample time to shed excess heat and steam. This should take about 45 minutes; if left out indefinitely, the granola can turn sticky or soft, so do try to put it away as soon after cooling as you can.

Advantage homemade. Both granolas have whole oats as their main ingredient, but the Kellogg's is high in refined sugar and contains palm oil. The homemade version contains protein-rich pecans and uses only a small amount of honey, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. It took me an hour to make granola from scratch.

Often touted as health food, many packaged granolas contain so much fat, sugar, and calories that you might as well eat a candy bar. On the other hand, when enjoyed in moderation, healthy homemade granola is an excellent source of fiber, iron, healthy fat, and protein.

Oatmeal vs. Granola. The primary difference between oatmeal and granola is that oatmeal is made from whole oat grains that have been cooked at a higher temperature than usual to gelatinize the starch. Granola contains rolled oats, fruits, honey, raisins, almonds, and other components.

Nut butter is a super flavorful fat that serves multiple purposes in granola. It acts as a binding agent—along with additional coconut oil and whatever natural sweetener I've chosen—helping to pull the dry ingredients together into a wet, sticky mass for baking.

The binder is what helps the base ingredients clump together into clusters. Traditionally this is usually a sugar syrup, but it's possible to use any ingredient that has the power to bind. Egg - Egg whites are a great binder for granola if you are trying to avoid sugar.

Using the right binding agent in your granola bar recipe is a crucial part of keeping your bars from falling apart. While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey!

Healthy granola contains whole grains such as oats and barley, nuts, and very little added sugar and fat. Eaten in moderation, this calorie-dense food can help fill you up, provide energy, and have a positive impact on several important metabolic health indicators (blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight).

Can I eat plain granola? ›

This granola can be eaten straight from the bag or served as a breakfast cereal. But we especially love it when its layered and made into a parfait. Use yogurt and cream cheese as your base, then add fruit like kiwi, banana, orange and frozen berries.

Although similar, oats and granola are very different. Oats are a healthful cereal grain, often added to granola. Granola is far more versatile and consists of oats and other food items (such as dried fruits and nuts). Both are typically toasted and often enjoyed for breakfast.

Granola is a food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking to avoid burning and to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency.